FALL CLEANING !

   

     

      What a weekend it was! I am sooooo exhausted I can barely type these words! This past weekend I did fall cleaning in the house. I don't know if such a term exists but that's would took place at my Greek palace (palace because I rule - Hahaha!)

      

      The whole family got involved (like they had a choice!) and we took it room by room and we were done in about 7 hours (that is pure working hours and doesn't include breaks!) All 4 of us would work together in a single room at a time. I had planned the whole thing so that everyone had a specific chore to do. My husband did all the high reaching chores - top of closets and of cupboards, taking down curtains and cleaning the curtain rods, the ceiling lights, the shades and windows and the balconies. Kids, after picking up their stuff and throwing away broken or not wanted anymore toys, cleaned the walls and doors as far up as they could reach. (always wearing gloves, of course) Actually, we didn't throw away good toys and books we put them aside to give away either to my younger nieces and nephews or to the church which gives them out to the poor and needy families. We do that with clothes, too. I cleaned and polished furniture and organised their stuff where they wanted them to be at and of course, washed and ironed the curtains and vacuumed and mopped the floors. Of course, to make it more challenging and fun I set a timer and we all had to be done with each room in one hour (it is doable if 4 people are at it!) That was like a game/competition and made us work better together as a team to accomplish it. Also, depending on whose room we were cleaning at the time we were listening to music of his/her choice to make it more fun.

    

      You'd probably wonder how did I convince my kids to participate in this (let's be honest) dreadful chore!!! Well, it's all about motivation. There was a great price to be won if this was accomplished... Okay, it's called bribing! Hey, it works! All it took was to promise them that at the end they would be able   to enjoy an extra hour of video game playing, to watch a movie of their choice accompanied by ordering out from their favorite pizza or other place and have pop along with it and ice-cream!

      What's a mother to do! I needed to get this done! My spring cleaning had been - let's say - partial, and with the holidays coming up and my schedule getting tighter and tighter I wasn't sure I 'd be able to do it. Not doing it, is unacceptable (for me), hiring somebody to do it was an (expensive) option but I thought why not spend that money on my kids by spoiling them a bit and at the same time teach them to clean, to cooperate, to work as a team, to feel responsible and do that in fun game-like way where all the family is involved in the same project. Good quality family time, lots of lessons, lots of fun and mommy gets what she wants with less time and hassle!!!!

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